A prime goal of VicHealth Centres is to translate public health research knowledge to health promotion policy and practice.

VicHealth has established Centres of Research and Practice that have been strategic catalysts in new developments in public health research, health policy and health promotion interventions. A prime goal of VicHealth Centres is to translate public health research knowledge to health promotion policy and practice.

Centres carry out research that fills an identified gap in current research and practice activity and contributes to national and state health policy objectives.

VicHealth currently supports, at varying levels, four Centres of Excellence in Research and Practice:

Judith Lumley Centre

Institution: La Trobe University
Director: Professor Rhonda E Small

Judith Lumley Centre was established in 1991 by VicHealth and is auspiced by Latrobe University (after initially being auspiced by Monash University). It was previously known as Mother and Child Health Research (MCHR). The Centre focuses on perinatal, maternal, infant and child health. It has undertaken three large population-based surveys (partly funded by DHS) on new mothers looking at their physical and mental health and satisfaction with services.

Onemda VicHealth Koori Health Unit

Institution: The University of Melbourne
Director: Associate Professor Ian Anderson

Onemda VicHealth Koori Health Unit was established in 1998 by VicHealth. The Unit now also receives funding from Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health (OATSIH). It is auspiced by the University of Melbourne. The Unit covers community development, research and teaching. It focuses on historical and cultural determinants and how they relate to health and health services. The Unit facilitates and brokers research action between researchers and Koori communities and disseminates research findings. It also has a major role in supporting Koori students and undergraduate teaching in Aboriginal issues especially in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry.

VicHealth Centre for Tobacco Control

Institution: The Cancer Council Victoria
Director: Ms Suzie Stillman

VicHealth Centre for Tobacco Control was established in 1999 by VicHealth and was originally auspiced by a Consortium of Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria, The University of Melbourne’s Centre for Public Policy and The Institute of Public Health and Health Services Research at Monash University. It is now auspiced by the Cancer Council of Victoria. The Centre covers the legal and social issues involved in reducing smoking and undertakes research on the broader socio-political and policy factors associated with tobacco control work. In 2004 VCTC merged its administrative operations with the program/policy arm, Quit Victoria, also at The Cancer Council.

McCaughey VicHealth Centre for Community Wellbeing

Institution: The University of Melbourne
Director: Billie Giles-Corti

McCaughey VicHealth Community Wellbeing Unit is auspiced by the University of Melbourne. It has a research and community development component with the research arm accounting for around 70% of funding. It will aim to provide an evidence base in the area of social connectedness with a secondary emphasis on freedom from discrimination. There will be an emphasis on intervention research and development of methodologies and indicators for assessing mental health at the population level. The Centre also aims to increase uptake of evidence-based policy practice and meet the research and learning needs of the field.